BRUNSWICK
The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team will continue its pursuit of its ninth NESCAC Championship this weekend as the Polar Bears travel to Amherst, Mass., to battle Tufts University in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
The second-seeded Polar Bears (23-1) and third-seeded Jumbos (22-3) will play at 3 p.m. Saturday, following the opening semifinal between top-seeded Amherst (25-0) and fifth-seeded Wesleyan (17-7) at 1 p.m.
The winners will square off in the championship game Sunday at noon.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for students/seniors, and free for children two and under. Tickets will go on sale at noon at the outdoor entrance to LeFrak Gymnasium, between Alumni Gym and Orr Rink. Doors to the game will open at noon. Both semifinals and the championship game will be webcast via the Northeast Sports Network.
Bowdoin enters the contest with the highest-scoring offense (82.6) and second-best defense (46.8) in the conference this season. The second seeded Polar Bears cruised to a 77-35 win over No. 7 Williams to reach the semifinals for the 18th consecutive season. Senior Kate Kerrigan paced Bowdoin with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Junior Abby Kelly leads a balanced attack for Bowdoin, averaging 12.2 points per game off the bench. Kerrigan nets 10.2 points per game, and leads the team in rebounding (6.5) and assists (4.2), while shooting 53.3 from the field.
Bowdoin posted its best regular season record (23-1) since the 2006-07 season, with its lone loss being a 49- 45 setback at Amherst. The Polar Bears have won eight NESCAC titles.
Bowdoin handed Tufts one of its two league losses with a 66-53 victory in Brunswick on the opening weekend of conference play. The two teams have met seven times in the NESCAC postseason with Bowdoin owning a 4-3 advantage.
In their last meeting, the 2017 semifinals, the Jumbos held off the Polar Bears for a 49-44 win.
Women’s hockey
Bowdoin is the fifth seed and will travel to Hamilton for the NESCAC quarterfinals on Saturday.
Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The game will be carried live on the Northeast Sports Network.
It is the second straight season that Hamilton (13-7-4, 9-4-3 NESCAC) will host a quarterfinal against Bowdoin (12-8-3, 6-7-3 NESCAC). The Continentals have the best defense in the NESCAC, allowing 1.08 goals per game, and lead the conference with a 96.2 penalty kill percentage. Hamilton is looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2007 and is in search for the program’s first NESCAC title.
Bowdoin is the No. 5 seed for the first time since 2015. The Polar Bears went 3-1-2 in the final six games and a sweep of Trinity in the final series of the regular season helped them secure the No. 5 seed. Bowdoin has three NESCAC titles to its credit and last won a title in 2013.
During the regular season, the Polar Bears held a 1- 0-1 edge against Hamilton, winning 2-0 in game one and playing to a 0-0 draw in the second contest. The Polar Bears own a 3-0 advantage against the Continentals in the NESCAC Championship series. Last year, Bowdoin posted a 1-0 double-overtime victory in Clinton, N.Y. as the No. 6 seed.
Men’s swimming
Bowdoin College is excited to host the 2018 New England Small College Athletic Conference Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship beginning today and running through Sunday at Leroy Greason Pool.
Competition will get underway each day with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. Finals will begin at 6 p.m. tonight, 5:50 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets are $8 per session for adults and $3 per session for children and students.
Doors will open 60 minutes prior to the preliminaries and finals.
No pre-sale tickets will be available, as all tickets will be sold at the door.
Men’s squash
Bowdoin is seeded second in the Conroy (D) Division of the College Squash National Championships and will open action today at Wesleyan University.
The Polar Bears, who finished the regular season ranked 26th in the nation, will battle the Cardinals for the second time this season at 2 p.m. in Middletown, Connecticut.
Bowdoin took an 8-1 win over Wesleyan in the regular season meeting between the teams on Jan. 20.
The winner of that match will advance to the second round against the winner of Hamilton and Haverford at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Wesleyan.
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